Inside Tom Cruise's Mysterious Life: From Humble Beginnings to Becoming a Hollywood Star

There are very few individuals — sequestered monks? — in the world who don’t recognize the famous face of Tom Cruise or haven’t seen one of his blockbuster movies like Top Gun, Rain Man, Jerry Maguire or Risky Business — but ironically, he’s one of the most mysterious stars in Hollywood.

"I'm really private — in my own world,” said Cruise, 62. “I spend a lot of time alone. I mean a lot of time alone. But I’ve spent time alone my whole life and it doesn’t bother me. I feel lonely at times, but I don’t want to get into a relationship with someone if it's not right."

The actor said that even as a kid, “I was very frustrated. I didn’t have a lot of friends. The closest people around me were my family.” And it doesn’t help that he doesn’t stay in one place for long. He’s always moving from one of his many high-intensity hobbies to another — fencing, jogging, weightlifting, skydiving, rock climbing, sailing and skiing — or training for a dangerous stunt in an upcoming movie. "I’m very disciplined,” admitted the star, who’s worth $600 million. “I don’t hide from cameras or anything. It doesn’t bother me ... but if it finds me, it finds me.”

When Cruise was a teenager, he decided to attend a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio, after seeing a speech by Father Ric Schneider. "Tom was instantly hooked,” Schneider recalled. “With his parents going through a divorce, it was tough on him. That’s maybe one of the reasons why he came here.” When he got to St. Francis, he made friends with another student named Shane Dempler.

"He had a very strong Catholic faith,” Dempler remembered. “We went to Mass, spent time in the chapel and enjoyed hearing stories from the priests. We thought the priests had a great lifestyle and we were really interested in priesthood."

Cruise said he didn’t even come close to graduation. "I was there for one school session," explained Cruise. "I remember we used to sneak out of the school on weekends and go to this girl’s house in town, sit around, talk and play spin the bottle. I just realized I loved women too much to give that up.” In the end, he and Shane were nabbed stealing liquor from the priests and got drunk in the woods nearby — and were kicked out."

“The school wrote a letter to our parents saying they liked us both, but would prefer if we didn’t return,” said Dempler.

These days, he’s well known for his affiliation with Scientology, which he joined in 1990, and has become one of its most famous advocates. And that’s a lot of the reason why even die-hard fans think he’s something of a mystery. One of Scientology’s teachings is that people can overcome unwanted behavioral patterns and free their abilities to display formerly suppressed powers, such as a hands-on technique, known as “touch assist,” to help cure sprained joints, injured limbs, colds, sore throats and more with just the touch of their hands!

And Cruise, who has attained the highest level in Scientology, Operating Thetan VI, has learned that amazing superpower! “That’s a very high level, and he would have learned about touch assist and almost certainly tried it as part of his experience,” said Tony Ortega, editor of the Scientology watchdog blog The Underground Bunker.

Another Scientology insider describes the touch assist phenomenon, adding, “It’s a laying on of hands Scientologists claim opens the nerve channels and brings relief to a needy spot. The Scientologist who is performing the touch assist will touch the injured person and instruct them to ‘Feel my finger.’"

“Only one finger must be used — not two. After the healer has finished, they must say, ‘End of assist.’ It’s a powerful procedure, Scientologists believe.” While discussing otherworldly powers in a leaked Scientology video, Cruise said, “A Scientologist has the ability to create new and better realities and improve conditions ... Being a Scientologist, you look at someone and know absolutely that you can help them ... When you drive past an accident, it’s not like anyone else. If you drive past, you know you have to do something about it because you know you’re the only one who can really help.”

Although his love life — with a bevy of beauties including Cher, Rebecca De Mornay, Penelope Cruz and Sofía Vergara — has always made headlines, the women, especially his three wives — Mimi Rogers (1987-1990), Nicole Kidman (1990-2001) and Katie Holmes (2006-2012) — have always been very closemouthed about what went wrong with either their relationship or marriages to Cruise. Rumor has it his devotion to Scientology has played a part in their breakups.

First wife Rogers introduced him to the religion but divorced him because when he got super famous, she felt like she “vanished” as a person. Second and third wives Kidman and Holmes both joined the Church of Scientology, though reports say the church may have played a part in their marriages breaking down. In 2001, Cruise filed for divorce from Kidman, citing “irreconcilable differences.” But he has kept close ties with the two kids he adopted with her — Isabella, 31, and Connor, 29 — who live quiet lives far from the spotlight.

Throughout the years, many have speculated over who was the one to end the marriage. And despite rumors claiming Kidman, 57, doesn’t have any relationship with her adopted kids, with her eldest daughter clearing the air in 2016. “Of course we talk, they’re my parents,” she said.

Holmes, 45, explained her split this way. "Everyone loves him, but when it came to me, I didn’t feel I was seen or heard or supported on an emotional level or intellectual level. I felt very alone a lot of the time.” Nowadays, Cruise spends a lot of his time in London, which is near where Isabella and her British husband, Max Parker, live. But he’s philosophical about his relationships — and hasn’t given up on finding a new woman in his life.

"Do I make mistakes? Yeah. I don’t care who you are, life has challenges … if someone judges me harshly, it’s OK. I don’t even judge them harshly for doing it,” he said. Behind the scenes, Cruise is known for his dedication, work ethic and commitment to his craft. He performs almost all his own stunts, flies his own planes and actually leaps out of them too! But he’s still got a sense of humor. "Let’s face it, I’m not saving lives here," he added.

"I love my work, but my family is very important to me, too. I’m always looking for a challenge," Cruise revealed.